SORTA, the organization that oversees Metro, voted 7-6 on Wednesday to keep the city of Cincinnati from using tax money that funds Metro to pay for the streetcar project. Some members of the board thinkFull Story >

SORTA, the organization that oversees Metro, voted 7-6 on Wednesday to keep the city of Cincinnati from using tax money that funds Metro to pay for the streetcar project.Full Story >

City Council member Charlie Winburn is calling upon citizens to come to City Hall on Monday in opposition to what he calls "the $100 million government waste project called the downtown streetcar." WinburnFull Story >

Dozens of citizens showed up at City Hall on Monday to show support or opposition to the Cincinnati streetcar project.Full Story >

The City of Cincinnati's Administration is bringing forward three pieces of legislation to the Budget and Finance Committee of Cincinnati City Council on Sept. 24. The three items will advance the streetcarFull Story >

The City of Cincinnati's Administration is bringing forward three pieces of legislation to the Budget and Finance Committee of Cincinnati City Council on Sept. 24.Full Story >

The Streetcar Project has been pushed back until the summer of 2015. A memo from City Manager Milton Dohoney to City Council says the two year construction project, with an additional six months for testingFull Story >

The Streetcar Project has been pushed back until the summer of 2015.Full Story >

Cincinnati City Council's Budget and Finance Committee voted on Monday to move more than $3 million from an account set up for the streetcar to the city's Capital Improvement Account. The Capital ImprovementFull Story >

Cincinnati City Council's Budget and Finance Committee voted on Monday to move more than $3 million from an account set up for the streetcar to the city's Capital Improvement Account. The Capital Improvement Account is where the city will be drawing funds for expenses related to the streetcar. Full Story >

The vehicles produced by CAF USA for the Cincinnati Streetcar must comply with the federal Buy America program, which requires the vehicles be produced with at least 60% domestic content and that final assembly of the vehicles take place in the United States.Full Story >

CINCINNATI, OH (FOX19) -

The Cincinnati Streetcar project's
finish line has been pushed back yet again according to city bid documents.

City leaders say
riders will now likely be able to start boarding in April of 2016. The 3.6 mile
track will run from the riverfront through Over-The-Rhine. The project has a $110
million price tag.

"Originally we were told the project would get done
in 2012," mayoral candidate John Cranley said Friday. "Now they're talking
about not having it complete until 2016."

The bid due date was extended from January 18th
to noon on February 8th.

According to project documents, the "notice to
proceed" date is April 8th and the contractor must start work within
five days.

"For them to try and lock our hands in advance two
or three years after the next mayor takes office is I think really bad form,
it's bad government, it's not right," argued Cranley, a former city councilman.

The city finalized a deal with the vehicle manufacturer
in December. Project documents outlining the bid process for the streetcar show
the city expects to get the first of five streetcar vehicles in July of next
year then one a month after that.

"Would you buy a car two years before you plan to
use it?" Cranley questioned. "It's a horrible, reckless way to spend taxpayer
money."

The bid names March of 2015 as the date the
majority of the OTR loop should be complete and October of that year as the
final finish date.

Some utilities started moving in 2012 and
Cincinnati Bell is slated to start their work early this year.

With the Duke Energy debate over who should pay to
move the utilities still underway, Cranley argues the city should not be
pushing forward on the project.

"The easy thing to do would be to not spend the
money until they have the ability with Duke Energy to complete the project," he
said. "Until they have that under control they should not be spending any
dollars."

"We wouldn't be where we are at The Banks, at Smale
[Riverfront Park], Fountain Square, in downtown, in Over the Rhine if every
time there was someone who said ‘no' we stopped after making a commitment,"
argued mayoral candidate Roxanne Qualls.

As for the Duke Energy talks, the city's website
states it has set aside $15 million from the sale of the Blue Ash airport to
"front" the payment for the relocation. Ultimately the city expects to be
reimbursed by Duke Energy.

"We are happy to resolve those issues through a
mediator or in court, but it is important to move it forward," Qualls said
Friday.

A spokesperson for Duke Energy told FOX19 they are not prepared to move
infrastructure until agreements are in place. An operating agreement has yet to
be finalized. The company filed "facility relocation riders" associated with mass transportation project in
2012. According to Duke Energy's website the riders would "allow the company
to recover from a local government or its residents, the costs of relocating
infrastructure because of specific projects".

Qualls argues part of the reason the project has
been postponed is due to opponents dragging it out.

"One of the things that has resulted in the delay
has been the two ballot initiatives both of which were defeated by the voters
and the voters said to go forward," she said.

A city
spokesperson says over 80 contractors have showed interest in the streetcar
project which currently includes the OTR section, the Cincinnati Central
Riverfront portion of the project, and a Maintenance and Operations facility.

The spokesperson says so far $42 million has either
been spent on the project or is currently allocated and promised through
contracts.

To date the project has received three federal
grants.

During construction downtown intersections may be
closed over weekends if coordinated well in advance. Pedestrian and bicycle
access must be maintained at all times. One lane in each direction must also be
maintained.

(AP Photo/Jennifer Kay). Six crosses are placed at a makeshift memorial on the Florida International University campus in Miami on Saturday, March 17, 2018, near the scene of a pedestrian bridge collapse that killed at least six people on March 15.

A matter of seconds between those who would live and those who would die as Florida pedestrian bridge topples down highway bustling with passing vehicles.

(AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File). FILE - This Monday, June 19, 2017, file photo shows a user signing in to Facebook on an iPad, in North Andover, Mass. Facebook has a problem it just can’t kick: People keep exploiting it in ways that could sway election...

News reports that Facebook let the Trump-affiliated data mining firm Cambridge Analytica abscond with data from tens of millions of users mark the third time in roughly a year the company appears to have been outfoxed in this way.

News reports that Facebook let the Trump-affiliated data mining firm Cambridge Analytica abscond with data from tens of millions of users mark the third time in roughly a year the company appears to have been outfoxed in this way.